Presently, dental blanks are composed of a single color, or of multiple colors layered on top of each other. The monochromatic blocks may not match the natural color gradation found in natural teeth. Furthermore, shades of these colored blocks are limited in number, and may not even match an overall base shade of a tooth.
One known type of block does have three layers of color. However, these layers extend fully to surfaces of the block, and result in restorations with sharp gradations in color, as opposed to natural teeth which have gradual changes in color. Furthermore, natural teeth have color generated internally by overlapping colors from the enamel and dentin of the tooth.
Conventional methods of fabricating dental blocks involve pressing powders into a mold or using an extrusion from which blocks are then fired to full density. These are time and labor intensive processes and do not easily allow for placement of multiple colors as desirable for dental blocks with improved color matching.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a blank with color zones which correspond to colors found in natural teeth. Moreover, it would be desirable to provide a blank from which restorations with varying ratios of color thicknesses can be produced. It would also be desirable to provide a method of fabrication of dental blocks that readily allows for placement and incorporation of multiple colors.